It’s true: if you want to rise to the top in business, you should buckle up because the ride can get pretty rocky. These days, competition is fiercer than ever across industries, and challenges and pitfalls lurk at every corner, which makes a life of 21st-century entrepreneurs tougher than their parents had it. Still, achieving peak productivity and superior business results can be a bit easier if you know how to avoid common mistakes that can slay your success before you get to savor its sweet taste. Don’t know which performance killers to watch out for? Here’s a list of six things successful people never: use it as a signpost as you elbow your way to top industry tiers.

1. Successful people never waste time on social media

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can be fun, but successful people whose eyes are set on peak productivity never get sucked into the vortex of social media. If you’re not using social networks for business purposes, you should limit the time you spend online or use it as a reward to savor after the work day is done. After all, control over your time is at the end of your own fingertips, and if you let it go to waste, you’ll have only yourself to blame.

2. Successful people never treat their wellbeing frivolously

Successful people know that ill health and exhaustion can punch deep holes in productivity, and they listen to their bodies and strive to stay fit and energized at all costs. If you want to max out your productivity, you should go over your carte du jour and see whether it can be adjusted with peak health in mind. To stay on the successful side of the bed, you can devise a bedtime routine and buy new mattresses online: it’ll make sure your batteries get a full recharge every night.

3. Successful people don’t stress over things they can’t control

Worrying is a waste of time and mental power, and successful people know they can’t afford to lose either. Instead of pondering on possible outcomes and different scenarios of development of events, try to focus on action-based activities and things that are in your control. By doing so, you’ll get more done and you’ll stay on the positive side of the mindset while allowing things beyond your control to work themselves out in their own time.

4. Successful people never start a day without a game plan

Long-term productivity is built from blocks of habit, and successful people know it well. For this reason, successful people never start the day without a game plan, and they stick to the priority list and the things they want to achieve religiously. To hack peak productivity, it’s a smart idea to make a list of your daily tasks and to use it as a roadmap in the quest for superior results in both professional and private life.

5. Successful people never compare themselves to others

Have you ever caught yourself comparing your productivity to others’ performance? If you have, you probably know that it’s a one-way ticket to misery and anger. Successful people never waste energy trying to be better, smarter, or more productive than others: they focus on their To Dos and strive to get as much done as is possible in the given circumstances. Comparing your output and your coworkers’ performance will get nothing done: it’ll just do your self-esteem in.

6. Successful people never ponder on past mistakes

Mistakes are a normal part of life, but stressing over them is futile. That’s why successful people never waste time dwelling on errors and ‘What If’s. Instead, they learn from mistakes and move past them, and they know that negative experiences are valuable lessons with growth potential. If you want to rise to the top, you need to be prepared to make mistakes – but you also need to be able to prevent less than stellar outcomes from getting you down.

The road to professional achievement might not be covered in roses but there’s no need for you to get pricked by just about every thorn you stumble upon as you elbow your way to success. If you want to speed up the pursuit of top-notch productivity and business results, at least try not to make the most common mistakes that will shatter your performance in a blink. Good luck!